Carbonized polyaniline nanotubes/nanosheets-supported Pt nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and electrocatalysis

Nitrogen-containing carbonized polyaniline nanotubes/nanosheets were used to synthesize a novel type of supported Pt nanoparticles electrocatalyst PtNPs/Carb-nanoPANI, with the Pt nanoparticles of ~ 9 nm in diameter. PtNPs/Carb-nanoPANI nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, cyclovoltammetry, thermogravimetric and XRD analyses. Its electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction in both the alkaline and acidic solutions was studied by a rotating disc technique. In acidic media, this electrocatalyst was compared to both smooth platinum and commercial C-supported Pt-based electrocatalyst. Its higher specific electrocatalytic activity, which amounted to ~ 1 mA cm^− 2 in the region of diffusion control, was proved. High electrocatalytic activity of PtNPs/Carb-nanoPANI towards the ethanol oxidation reaction in acidic medium was also evidenced.     

Multi-Layered PtAu Nanoframes and Their Light-Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity via Plasmonic Hot Spots (Small 17/2023)

Here, the rational design of complex PtAu double nanoframes (DNFs) for plasmon-enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is reported. The synthetic strategy for the DNFs consists of on-demand multiple synthetic chemical toolkits, including well-faceted Au growth, rim-on selective Pt deposition, and selective Au etching steps. DNFs are synthesized by utilizing Au truncated octahedrons (TOh) as a starting template. The outer octahedral (Oh) nanoframes (NFs) nest the inner TOh NFs, eventually forming DNFs with a tunable intra-nanogap distance. Residual Au adatoms on Pt skeletons act as light entrappers and produce plasmonic hot spots between inner and outer frames through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) coupling, which promotes enhanced electrocatalytic activity for the MOR. Importantly, the correlation between the gap-induced hot carriers and electrocatalytic activity is evaluated. The highest catalytic activity is achieved when the gap is the narrowest. To further harness their light-trapping capability, hierarchically structured triple NFs (TNFs) are synthesized, wherein three NFs are entangled in a single entity with a high density of hot regions, exhibiting superior electrocatalytic activity toward the MOR with a sixfold larger current density under light irradiation compared to the dark conditions.     

Fabrication of Supported AuPt Alloy Nanocrystals with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity for Formic Acid Oxidation through Conversion Chemistry of Layer‐Deposited Pt2+ on Au Nanocrystals

The exploitation of nanoconfined conversion of Au‐ and Pt‐containing binary nanocrystals for developing a controllable synthesis of surfactant‐free AuPt nanocrystals with enhanced formic acid oxidation (FAO) activity is reported, which can be stably and evenly immobilized on various support materials to diversify and optimize their electrocatalytic performance. In this study, an atomic layer of Pt²⁺ species is discovered to be spontaneously deposited in situ on the Au nanocrystal generated from a reverse‐microemulsion solution. The resulting Au/Pt²⁺ nanocrystal thermally transforms into a reduced AuPt alloy nanocrystal during the subsequent solid‐state conversion process within the SiO₂ nanosphere. The alloy nanocrystals can be isolated from SiO₂ in a surfactant‐free form and then dispersedly loaded on the carbon sphere surface, allowing for the production of a supported electrocatalyst that exhibits much higher FAO activity than commercial Pt/C catalysts. Furthermore, by involving Fe₃O₄ nanocrystals in the conversion process, the AuPt alloy nanocrystals can be grown on the oxide surface, improving the durability of supported metal catalysts, and then uniformly loaded on a reduced graphene oxide (RGO) layer with high electroconductivity. This produces electrocatalytic AuPt/Fe₃O₄/RGO nanocomposites whose catalyst‐oxide‐graphene triple‐junction structure provides improved electrocatalytic properties in terms of both activity and durability in catalyzing FAO.     

Confining Sub-Nanometer Pt Clusters in Hollow Mesoporous Carbon Spheres for Boosting Hydrogen Evolution Activity

Electrochemical water splitting is considered as a promising approach to produce clean and sustainable hydrogen fuel. As a new class of nanomaterials with high ratio of surface atoms and tunable composition and electronic structure, metal clusters are promising candidates as catalysts. Here, a new strategy is demonstrated to synthesize active and stable Pt-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution by confining Pt clusters in hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (Pt₅/HMCS). Such a structure would effectively stabilize the Pt clusters during the ligand removal process, leading to remarkable electrocatalytic performance for hydrogen production in both acidic and alkaline solutions. Particularly, the optimal Pt₅/HMCS electrocatalyst exhibits 12 times the mass activity of Pt in commercial Pt/C catalyst with similar Pt loading. This study exemplifies a simple yet effective approach to improve the cost effectiveness of precious-metal-based catalysts with stabilized metal clusters.     

Effect of ceria on carbon supported platinum catalysts for methanol electrooxidation

Pt–CeO₂/C catalysts were synthesized by a one-step microwave polyol process and compared with Pt/C (E-TEK) catalyst in terms of the electrochemical activity for methanol oxidation using the cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results demonstrated that Pt–CeO₂/C catalysts exhibited lower onset potential, higher current peak and better stability for methanol electrooxidation than Pt/C (E-TEK) catalyst. The effect of ceria on the catalytic activity was investigated by electrochemical measurements and the highest electrochemical activity was obtained at the molar ratio of Pt to Ce by 2:1. The preliminary mechanism of the enhanced electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation was discussed.     

Selective Etching Induced Synthesis of Hollow Rh Nanospheres Electrocatalyst for Alcohol Oxidation Reactions

The hollow noble metal nanostructures have attracted wide attention in catalysis/electrocatalysis. Here a two‐step procedure for constructing hollow Rh nanospheres (Rh H‐NSs) with clean surface is described. By selectively removing the surfactant and Au core of Au‐core@Rh‐shell nanostructures (Au@Rh NSs), the surface‐cleaned Rh H‐NSs are obtained, which contain abundant porous channels and large specific surface area. The as‐prepared Rh H‐NSs exhibit enhanced inherent activity for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) compared to state‐of‐the‐art Pt nanoparticles in alkaline media. Further electrochemical experiments show that Rh H‐NSs also have high activity for the electrooxidation of formaldehyde and formate (intermediate species in the course of the MOR) in alkaline media. Unfortunately, Rh H‐NSs have low electrocatalytic activity for the ethanol and 1‐propanol oxidation reactions in alkaline media. All electrochemical results indicate that the order of electrocatalytic activity of Rh H‐NSs for alcohol oxidation reaction is methanol (C₁) > ethanol (C₂) > 1‐propanol (C₃). This work highlights the synthesis route of Rh hollow nanostructures, and indicates the promising application of Rh nanostructures in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells.     

A novel reusable platinum nanocatalyst

Recyclability of noble metal catalysts is a challenging issue when dealing with their industrial applications. Smart pH-sensitive Pt nanoparticles were successfully prepared for the first time by using octa(N,N-diacetic acid phenylamine)silsesquioxane (OAPAS) as a macromolecular protective agent. As-prepared Pt nanoparticles can self-aggregate or redisperse by only changing the pH of the system solution. In the weak acidic or alkaline solution (pH > 4.0), the Pt nanoparticles dispersed homogenously; while in the acidic solution (pH = 2.5), they self-aggregated. The dynamic self-aggregation and redispersion processes of the Pt nanoparticles driven by pH changes were revealed by transmission electron microscopy measurements. Electrocatalytic experiments proved that the platinum nanoparticles as a recyclable catalyst showed excellent activity for the hydrogenation of aldehyde after runs of five times. Such platinum nanoparticles are thereby anticipated to have great potential functioning as “smart” catalysts for industrial applications.     

Electrochemical fabrication of polyaniline/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite films for electrooxidation of methanol

Polyaniline (PANI)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) composite films were fabricated by electropolymerization of aniline containing well-dissolved MWNTs. The films can be used as catalyst supports for electro-oxidation of methanol. Cyclic voltammogram and Chronoamperogram results show that platinum particles deposited on PANI/MWNT composite films exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity towards methanol oxidation than that deposited on pure PANI films. The porous structure and electrical conductivity of PANI films has been significantly changed by introduction of MWNTs, higher surface areas of PANI/MWNT composites has been achieved therefore. It favors for platinum particles to be highly dispersed on the PANI/MWNT composite films and the better electrocatalytic activity of Pt/PANI/MWNT electrode is induced consequently.     

Self‐Supported PtAuP Alloy Nanotube Arrays with Enhanced Activity and Stability for Methanol Electro‐Oxidation

Inhibiting CO formation can more directly address the problem of CO poisoning during methanol electro‐oxidation. In this study, 1D self‐supported porous PtAuP alloy nanotube arrays (ANTAs) are synthesized via a facile electro‐codeposition approach and present enhanced activity and improved resistance to CO poisoning through inhibiting CO formation (non‐CO pathway) during the methanol oxidation reaction in acidic medium. This well‐controlled Pt‐/transition metal‐/nonmetal ternary nanostructure exhibits a specific electroactivity twice as great as that of PtAu alloy nanotube arrays and Pt/C. At the same time, PtAuP ANTAs show a higher ratio of forward peak current density (I_f) to backward peak current density (I_b) (2.34) than PtAu ANTAs (1.27) and Pt/C (0.78). The prominent I_f/I_b value of PtAuP ANTAs indicates that most of the intermediate species are electro‐oxidized to carbon dioxide in the forward scan, which highlights the high electroactivity for methanol electro‐oxidation.     

Multifunctional Ir–Ru alloy catalysts for reversal-tolerant anodes of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

To address the problem of fuel starvation in fuel-cell electric vehicles,which causes cell voltage reversal and results in cell failure when repeated continuously,we developed a reversal-tolerant anode(RTA) to promote water oxidation in preference to carbon corrosion.Graphitized carbon-supported Ir-Ru alloys with different compositions are employed as RTA catalysts in an acidic polyol solution and are shown to exhibit composition-dependent average crystallite sizes of <5.33 nm.The adopted approach allows the generation of relatively well-dispersed Ir-Ru alloy nanoparticles on the carbon support without severe agglomeration.The activity of IrRu₂/C for the hydrogen oxidation reaction is 1.10 times that of the stateof-the-art Pt/C catalyst.Cell reversal testing by simulation of fuel starvation reveals that the durability of IrRu₂/C(~7 h) significantly exceeds that of the conventional Pt/C catalyst(~10 min) and is the highest value reported so far.Thus,the developed Ir-Ru alloy catalyst can be used to fabricate practical RTAs and replace Pt catalysts in the anodes of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.     

Ultrathin PtNiM (M = Rh,Os, and Ir) Nanowires as Efficient Fuel Oxidation Electrocatalytic Materials

The development of new electrocatalysts with high activity and durability for alcohol oxidation is an emerging need of direct alcohol fuel cells. However, the commonly used Pt‐based catalysts still exhibit drawbacks including limited catalytic activity, high overpotential, and severe CO poisoning. Here a general approach is reported for preparing ultrathin PtNiM (M = Rh, Os, and Ir) nanowires (NWs) with excellent anti‐CO‐poisoning ability and high activity. Owing to their superior nanostructure and optimal electronic interaction, the ultrathin PtNiM NWs show enhanced electrocatalytic performance for both methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The optimal PtNiRh NWs show mass activity of 1.72 A mg^?1 and specific activity of 2.49 mA cm^?2 for MOR, which are 3.17 and 2.79 times higher than those of Pt/C. In particular, the onset potentials of PtNiRh NWs for MOR and EOR shift down by about 65 and 85 mV compared with those of Pt/C. Density functional theory calculations further verify their high antipoison properties for MOR and EOR from both an electronic and energetic perspective. Facilitated by the introduction of Rh and Ni, the stable pinning of the Pt 5d band associated with electron‐rich and depletion centers solves the dilemma between reactivity and anti‐CO poisoning.     

Electrodeposition of platinum nanoparticles onto carbon nanofibers for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol

Pt/carbon composite nanofibers were prepared by electrodepositing Pt nanoparticles onto electrospun carbon nanofibers and were used as catalysts towards the oxidation of methanol. The morphology and size of Pt nanoparticles were controlled by selectively adjusting the electrodeposition potential and time. SEM and TEM results show that the composite nanofibers were successfully obtained and Pt particle diameters were between 10 and 55 nm. The electrocatalytic activity of the composite nanofibers expressed by current density per Pt particle mass was found to depend on the particle size, showing an increasing activity when the catalyst diameter decreased.     

Electrochemical characterization of Pt-Ru-Pd catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction in direct methanol fuel cells

PtRuPd nanoparticles on carbon black were prepared and characterized as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction in direct methanol fuel cells. Nano-sized Pd (2-4 nm) particles were deposited on Pt/C and PtRu/C (commercial products) by a simple chemical reduction process. The structural and physical information of the PtRuPd/C were confirmed by TEM and XRD, and their electrocatalytic activities were measured by cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry. The catalysts containing Pd showed higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation reaction than the other catalysts. This might be attributed to an increase in the electrochemical surface area of Pt, which is caused by the addition of Pd; this results in increased catalyst utilization.     

Facile synthesis of fully ordered L10-FePt nanoparticles with controlled Pt-shell thicknesses for electrocatalysis

We report a simple one-step approach for the synthesis of ～4 nm uniform and fully L10-ordered face-centered tetragonal (fct) FePt nanopartides (NPs) embedded in ～60 nm MCM-41 (fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41).We controlled the Pt-shell thickness of the fct-FePt NPs by treating the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with acetic acid (HOAc) or hydrochloric acid (HC1) under sonication,thereby etching the surface Fe atoms of the NPs.The fct-FePt NPs deposited onto the carbon support (fct-FePt NP/C) were prepared by mixing the fct-FePt NPs@MCM-41 with carbon and subsequently removing the MCM-41 using NaOH.We also developed a facile method to synthesize acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C by using a HF solution for simultaneous surface-Fe etching and MCM-41 removal.We studied the effects of both surface-Fe etching and Pt-shell thickness on the electrocatalytic properties of fct-FePt NPs for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR).Compared with the non-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalyst,the HOAc-treated and HCl-treated catalysts exhibit up to 34％ larger electrochemically active surface areas (ECASAs);in addition,the HCl-treated fct-FePt NP (with ～1.0 nm Pt shell)/C catalyst exhibits the highest specific activity.The HF-treated fct-FePt NP/C exhibits an ECASA almost 2 times larger than those of the other acid-treated fct-FePt NP/C catalysts and shows the highest mass activity (1,435 mA.mg~,2.3 times higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst) and stability among the catalysts tested.Our findings demonstrate that the surface-Fe etching for the generation of the Pt shell on fct-FePt NPs and the Pt-shell thickness can be factors for optimizing the electrocatalysis of the MOR.     

Pt／C催化剂的制备及其对甲醇电催化氧化的研究

首次报道了以乙二胺四乙酸（EDTA）作为螯合剂,采用硼氢化钠还原氯铂酸制备Pt／C（Pt的质量分数为20％）纳米催化剂,TEM分析表明,通过改变反应的pH值可以获得分散度与粒径不同的Pt粒子,当pH=12．5时,Pt的分散度最高,平均粒径最小（3．2nm）。催化剂的退火处理研究表明,经270℃氮气氛围内退火后,其电催化活性有了显著提高。使用循环伏安法在甲醇的溶液中电催化氧化研究结果表明,在pH=12．5时制备的催化剂对甲醇的电催化氧化活性最高。     

Highly dense and uniformly dispersed platinum nanoparticles on poly(acrylic acid) modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes for methanol oxidation

Poly(acrylic acid) modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PAA-MWNTs) were synthesized through in situ radical polymerization in acetone and the PAA-MWNTs were used as supporting material for platinum nanoparticles. Platinum nanoparticles were deposited on the surface of PAA-MWNTs with high loading and high dispersion through ethylene glycol reduction. The size of Pt nanoparticles on PAA-MWNTs can be tuned by the water content in the reaction system and the loading amount can be adjusted by the mass ratio of H₂PtCl₆ to PAA-MWNTs. The electrocatalytic properties of the Pt/PAA-MWNTs catalyst were evaluated by methanol oxidation. The results of cyclic voltammetry show that the Pt/PAA-MWNTs composite possesses high electrocatalytic activity, good long-term stability and storage property, which can be attributed to the small particle size and high dispersion of Pt nanoparticles as well as the nature of MWNTs.     

Fe/Co/C–N nanocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction synthesized by directly pyrolyzing Fe/Co-doped polyaniline

Development of precious metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great significance for the practical application of fuel cells. In this article, we report the finding that the C–N composites containing Fe and/or Co (C–PANI, Fe/C–PANI, Co/C–PANI, and FeCo/C–PANI), produced by directly pyrolyzing the Fe- and/or Co-doped polyaniline (PANI) precursors, show efficient electroactivity for ORR both in acidic and in alkaline media. Among the prepared catalysts, Fe/C–PANI and Co/C–PANI present the most positive ORR onset potential that is 0.61 V (vs. SCE) in 0.5 mol L^?1 H₂SO₄ solution or ?0.1 V (vs. SCE) in 1 mol L^?1 NaOH solution. In addition, the Fe/C–PANI catalyst shows the largest limiting-diffusion current density for ORR both in acidic and in alkaline media. A four-electron reaction of ORR on the Fe/C–PANI and Co/C–PANI catalysts is more dominant than a two-electron reaction. Fe/C–PANI catalyst also presents good electrocatalytic activity stability for ORR both in acidic and in alkaline media.     

A bifunctional electrocatalyst of PtNi nanoparticles immobilized on three-dimensional carbon nanofiber mats for efficient and stable water splitting in both acid and basic media

Inspired by the excellent activity of platinum in hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the good performance of Ni-based compounds in oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a bifunctional electrocatalyst PtNi carbon nanofiber (CNF) is designed and fabricated using electrospinning followed by carbonization. Ultra-small PtNi nanoparticles of several nanometers in size are densely dispersed on every CNF, along with a few larger nanoparticles with sizes of several decades of nanometers. The as-prepared catalysts can be directly used as an electrode and act as high-efficiency materials for water splitting, including HER and OER. For HER activity, the PtNi/CNFs reach 10 mA cm^?2 current density at low overpotentials of 34 mV and exhibit a small Tafel slope of 31 mV dec^?1 in acidic electrolytes of 0.5 M H₂SO₄, which is close to that of commercial Pt/C (20 wt%) electrocatalytic catalysts. In 1 M KOH solution, the PtNi/CNFs also exhibit excellent HER activity with a low overpotential of 82 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm^?2 and a small Tafel slope of 34 mV dec^?1. Moreover, the PtNi/CNFs also show good activity for OER in alkaline electrolyte of 1 M KOH with a Tafel slope of 159 mV dec^?1 and a small overpotential of 151 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm^?2. In addition, the OER performance of the PtNi/CNFs in acid media is also favorable, with a 198 mV dec^?1 Tafel slope. The decent activity of the PtNi/CNFs for water splitting originates from the synergistic effects of using Pt and Ni, large amounts of ultra-small nanoparticles densely dispersed on the CNFs, high conductivity of the support materials and interconnected three-dimensional structures of the carbon nanofiber mats.     

Template-directed synthesis of nitrogen- and sulfur-codoped carbon nanowire aerogels with enhanced electrocatalytic performance for oxygen reduction

Heteroatom doping,precise composition control,and rational morphology design are efficient strategies for producing novel nanocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells.Herein,a cost-effective approach to synthesize nitrogen-and sulfur-codoped carbon nanowire aerogels using a hard templating method is proposed.The aerogels prepared using a combination of hydrothermal treatment and carbonization exhibit good catalytic activity for the ORR in alkaline solution.At the optimal annealing temperature and mass ratio between the nitrogen and sulfur precursors,the resultant aerogels show comparable electrocatalytic activity to that of a commercial Pt/C catalyst for the ORR.Importantly,the optimized catalyst shows much better long-term stability and satisfactory tolerance for the methanol crossover effect.These codoped aerogels are expected to have potential applications in fuel cells.     

A stepwise-designed Rh-Au-Si nanocomposite that surpasses Pt/C hydrogen evolution activity at high overpotentials

Hydrogen evolution by electrocatalysis is an attractive method of supplying clean energy.However,it is challenging to find cheap and efficient alternatives to rare and expensive platinum based catalysts.Pt provides the best hydrogen evolution performance,because it optimally balances the free energies of adsorption and desorption.Appropriate control of these quantities is essential for producing an efficient electrocatalyst.We demonstrate,based on first principles calculations,a stepwise designed Rh-Au-Si ternary catalyst,in which adsorption (the Volmer reaction) and desorption (the Heyrovsky reaction) take place on Rh and Si surfaces,respectively.The intermediate Au surface plays a vital role by promoting hydrogen diffusion from the Rh to the Si surface.Theoretical predictions have been explored extensively and verified by experimental observations.The optimized catalyst (Rh-Au-SiNW-2) has a composition of 2.2∶28.5∶69.3 (Rh∶Au∶Si mass ratio) and exhibits a Tafel slope of 24.0 mV·dec-1.Its electrocatalytic activity surpasses that of a commercial 40 wt.％ Pt/C catalyst at overpotentials above 0.19 V by exhibiting a current density of greater than 108 mA·cm-2.At 0.3 V overpotential,the turnover frequency of Rh-Au-SiNW-2 is 10.8 times greater than that of 40 wt.％ Pt/C.These properties may open new directions in the stepwise design of highly efficient catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).